Saturday, April 12, 2014

Next week I'm heading to Milwaukee to be a guest artist at the University of Wisconsin. I'll be doing a concert, giving a lecture/slideshow, and holding "lab" hours where you can try playing my instruments or bring your own found objects to experiment with. My performance will feature the premiere of a brand new video/music work about the thawing of the Arctic Ocean created in collaboration with visual artist (and fellow polar adventurer) Oona Stern.

Come on by if you are in the area. All three of these events are free!

Polar Music ConcertCheryl E. Leonard presents music and multimedia works inspired by polar environments and ecosystems. Leonard
will play natural-object instruments made from shells, bones, kelp,
driftwood, and stones, in combination with field recordings collected in
Antarctica and Svalbard. The concert will include video/music works
created in collaboration with visual artists Oona Stern (Brooklyn, NY) and Genevieve Swifte (Canberra, Australia).

Music from High Latitudes LectureCheryl E. Leonard will share
stories, images, sounds, and music from her polar music projects,
discuss what its like to record audio at the ends of the earth, and
demonstrate several of her instruments made with natural objects like
penguin bones, shells, and rocks. Audience Q&A to follow.

Tinkerer's LabCome try your hand at making sounds with found objects! Cheryl E. Leonard will have an array of microphones and playing implements available for you to experiment with. Play around with underwater and contact microphones. Try bowing kitchen bowls or your desk lamp. Find out what happens when you amplify a rock and turn it up to 11. Bring your own materials to experiment with, or try out some of Cheryl's natural-object instruments, including ones made with penguin bones and shells from Antarctica.